Webb Tapped to Chair Personnel Subcommittee of Senate Committee on Armed Services

Senator Has Life-long Experience Addressing Needs of Military Servicemembers and their Families

Washington, DC – Senator Jim Webb (D-VA) was selected this week to chair the powerful Personnel Subcommittee of the Senate Committee on Armed Services for the 111th Congress. As chairman, Webb will draw on his extensive experience and expertise in military and defense matters to strengthen congressional oversight over a wide range of issues relating to the welfare, professional development, and quality of life of servicemembers and their families.  

As a member of both the Senate Committee on Armed Services and the Senate Committee on Veterans’ Affairs for nearly three years, Senator Webb drafted and introduced legislation that led to a modern, comprehensive post-9/11 GI Bill; spearheaded the effort to increase “dwell time” between combat deployments for active duty and reserve servicemembers; obtained an independent investigation to examine the effectiveness and reliability of body armor; and authored legislation that led to the establishment of the Commission on Wartime Contracting to root out waste, fraud, and abuse in Iraq and Afghanistan wartime-support contracts.

“As the son of an Air Force officer, the father of a Marine, and a Marine combat veteran myself, I understand the sacrifices that our servicemembers and their families make every day.  I have worked on the issues championed by this Subcommittee throughout my life, and it is an honor to be named chairman,” said Webb.

“The Commonwealth of Virginia is home to hundreds of thousands of active-duty and retired military families,” continued Webb. “Whether these families serve at the Pentagon in Northern Virginia, Ft. Lee outside Richmond, or the Norfolk Naval base and its associated commands, these families share a common set of concerns ranging from health care to basic pay and benefits.  Working with Senator Graham, the subcommittee’s ranking member, I look forward to this new position as an opportunity to explore the ever-changing needs of our armed services and identify policies that ensure the well-being of our servicemembers and their families.”

Senator Webb served with the Fifth Marine Regiment in Vietnam, where as a rifle platoon and company commander in the infamous An Hoa Basin west of Danang, he was awarded the Navy Cross, the Silver Star Medal, two Bronze Star Medals, and two Purple Hearts. He later served as a platoon commander and as an instructor in tactics and weapons at Marine Corps Officer Candidates School, and then as a member of the Secretary of the Navy's immediate staff, before leaving the Marine Corps in 1972. Following law school, Webb served in the U.S. Congress as counsel to the House Committee on Veterans Affairs from 1977 to 1981. In 1984, he was appointed the inaugural Assistant Secretary of Defense for Reserve Affairs. In 1987, he became the first graduate in the Naval Academy’s history to serve in the military and then become Secretary of the Navy.

The Subcommittee on Personnel’s responsibilities include: military and DOD civilian personnel policies; end strengths for military personnel; personnel compensation and benefits; military health care; and military nominations. Additional areas include: professional military education; DOD schools, DOD child care and family assistance; civil-military programs; POW/MIA issues; Armed Forces Retirement Home; morale, welfare and recreation; and military commissaries and exchanges.

The Subcommittee oversight responsibilities include the budget accounts for military personnel, military retirement, Defense Health Program, DOD Medicare-Eligible Retiree Health Care Fund, and operation and maintenance for certain education and civil military programs. Oversight of DOD offices and agencies include the positions of Under Secretary of Defense for Personnel & Readiness, Assistant Secretary of Defense for Reserve Affairs, and Assistant Secretary of Defense for Health Affairs; and the TRICARE Management Agency, Defense Commissary Agency, and Uniformed Services University of the Health Services.

To download a PDF of the Subcommittee structure for the Senate Armed Services Committee, please go to: http://armed-services.senate.gov/SASC%20SUB%20STRUCTURE%20111TH.pdf